Handle, field sizes rise at Remington Park meet

Remington Park in Oklahoma City closed its 67-date Thoroughbred meet Dec. 17 and reported double-digit gains in handle over the corresponding season in 2016.

Remington handled an average of $997,675 a card on its races from all sources at this meet, up 16 percent over 2016. The biggest gain was realized offtrack. Remington handled an average of $943,108 per card at off-site locations, up 18 percent.

Purses for the meet averaged $240,969 per program, up 1.8 percent, while fields averaged 8.96 horses, up from 8.4.

“Remington Park enjoyed a successful Thoroughbred season thanks to our fans, horsemen, and business partners, helping drive our parimutuel handle,” Matt Vance, vice president of operations for Remington, said in a press release. “We had an increase in field size this season, and our stakes program was well supported both locally and from connections shipping horses from across the United States to compete in Oklahoma City.”

Greyvitos invaded from Southern California to capture the $400,000 Springboard Mile and its 10 eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby on the closing-day card. There were six stakes on the program, and the all-sources handle of $2.7 million was the second-highest handle ever for Remington, behind the $2.8 million bet on Feb. 4, 1990.

Other highlights of the season included champion Champagne Room winning the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks, which will be a Grade 3 race for 2018. Untrapped captured the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby in September.

Danny Caldwell was the meet’s leading owner for the ninth time with 39 wins. His stable earned a meet-best $777,282. Steve Asmussen was the meet’s leading trainer with 82 wins, and the title was his 13th at Remington, a track record. Ramon Vazquez won his fifth straight riding title at Remington with 94 wins. He led all riders in mount earnings with $1.9 million.